UH Law School to feature film and discussion on WWII Japanese-American Internment

"The Cats of Mirikitani: Art and Internment"

HONOLULU — The William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa will present a film showing and panel discussion on the Japanese internment featuring Law School Professor Eric Yamamoto from 5:30-8:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 13 at the Law School, classroom 2.

The film, "The Cats of Mirikitani: Art and Internment," is a poignant post 9-11 documentary about a Japanese-American homeless street artist in New York, Jimmy Mirikitani, whose life course was dramatically altered by the WWII Japanese American Internment. The film producers are Linda Hattendorf and Masa Yoshikawa.

A panel discussion will follow the film showing featuring Professor Eric Yamamoto, law professor at the University of Hawaiʻi William S. Richardson School of Law. He is known for his legal work and scholarship on civil rights and racial justice. In 1984, he served as coram nobis co-counsel to Fred Korematsu in the successful reopening of the infamous WWII Japanese American internment case, Korematsu v. U.S., which led to reparations.

Other special guests include Leigh-Ann Miyasato, co-counsel to Fred Korematsu; Brian Niiya, Japanese Cultural Center Resource Director and Journalist; Hideo Okino, Art Contributor from the Honolulu Academy of Arts; and John Szostak, Assistant Professor of Japanese Art History.

The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Jennifer Hee, Director of Development at 956-5516.